Dusk
by runningwithhorses
Summary: After losing so much, Alexandra has returned to the Cullens. But as dusk falls, she finds that someone does care - she just didn't realise it.
1. Coming Back

A/N-Well, this is my first ever fan fiction story, and I've been working on it for the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately for you lot, I did it in random order, so now I have some chapters done, but not others. And to top it all off, they're all handwritten, and need to be typed up before I can get them on here...

This story is set after Eclipse, before Breaking Dawn, and is based on the books, not the movies. I wrote it for my friend at school, who made me continue on with it long after I normally would have moved onto something else-namely, my hunger games story. Anyway, this was all for her, and she thought it was (and I quote here) 'as good as Stephanie Meyer', so I figured I should share her joy with everyone else!

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight, not the books, not the movies. Get it? Good.

On to the story...

1 – Coming Back

I walked up to the front door, wondering if they knew I was coming. Alice would have seen it, surely, or Edward would read my thoughts. Although, since this had happened, he had made a point to stay away from that sanctuary of mine, claiming it was 'weird and totally confusing', or something to that degree. In any case, he had tried it once, and hadn't been keen to go back.

They didn't disappoint me. Before I could knock, Edward opened the door. Expecting me, or someone at the very least, no doubt.

"Hello Edward," I greeted him confidently. He seemed shocked, and if I didn't know better, I would have said that Edward Cullen was lost for words. If that were possible.

"Alex?" I recognised Alice's shocked voice, though she was nowhere in sight. "Alexandra Cullen?" She was surprised. My sudden decision hadn't given her enough time to see me coming, and she probably hadn't beenfollowing my future with her strange premonitions for years. Most likely, I was just a vague memory to them.

"Alice?" I called, still not able to see her. Carlisle appeared in front of me, just as Edward disappeared, after taking one look at my face. Was I that crazy?

"Hello Alexandra,"he said, once again shocking me with the flow of kindness and caring he had encircled himself with, even though he didn't know it.

"Carlisle, I-" I sarted to explain, but he cut me off.

"I know why you're here," he told me gently, the kindness shocking me again. Not for the first time in my new life, I wished that Carlisle didn't have that effect on me, and that my power was just a little bit more specific. Instead, it worked with distance; the closer I got, the more I knew about a person. Except that it was a little more abstract than just that, alloing ach person to have a different effect on me, mostly having something to do with their powers, or most defining trait, like Carlisle's compassion, or Alice showing me the visions, or Edward sharing his thoughts with me, while receiving the ones I practically shouted at him. It came in handy at times, but for the most part, it was very annoying, not to metion it didn't help with my already-short attention span.

"How?" I asked, confused. I hadn't even had a chance to say anything, and the mind reader wasn't even here!

"Your eyes," he explained simply. "They're red." I understood then. You didn't have to be gifted to work that one out. Dang all that human blood, tainting my eyes until they were red again. They were hadly gold when I left.

"I slipped, Carlisle. I came for help."

Before he could answer, Alice came bouncing into the conversation, obviously delighted at my return, and not trying to hide it.

"Alexandra!" she trilled, too excited to remember that I preferred the shortening of my name. I mean, come on! Alexandra was such a mouthful, and way to formal for my view on life. It made me sound like I was in trouble.

Alice dragged me into the house, and I let her, not caring where we were going. I wasn't planning on staying long anyway. The place was filled with the scents of each of the Cullens, but there was a new, foreign scent, so delicious it had my throat burning in the seconds it took for me to breathe it in. It was like nothing I had ever smelt before, and definitely human. For a moment, I was completely taken over by the delicious smell, before Alice snapped me back into reality.

"I can't see you attacking Bella, or any humans for that matter," she reassured me, but only managing to make me confused again. Luckily, confusion was something I was used to, after watching some of the more strange antics of some of the newborns during my not-so-long life.

"Bella?" I asked, looking at her. "Who's that?" I could have a guess, but it wouldn't have been very accurate.

"Edwards girlfriend," Alice answered simply, rolling her eyes. Apparently, I was supposed to have figured that out already, if I wasn't a lower life form. "She's the human who was just in here." She must be the owner of the sweet scent. Intruiging, the way they all put up with it, because of _Edward_. Then again, I did have a sort of love-hate relationship with Edward, so my point of view over these matters would probably be seen as clouded by our arguments. Hmm.

I remembered the strange girl I had caught a glimpse of before. I hadn't taken much notice, more focused on the bigger threat to my existence, Edward. I noticed none of the others were here now.

"Where did they go, anyway?" There was not a sign of any of the others, not even Jasper, who was usually where ever Alice was. Strange.

"They took Bella to a safe place." I felt uncomfortable. They expected me to attack her. So much for trust.

"Edward doesn't trust me," I stated. It wasn't a question. I knew this would happen, I just never took any notice.

"Not anymore," she confirmed.

"Why?"

Alice shrugged. She knew about as much as I did, which was not a lot. "I don't know," she said.

I didn't hear Carlisle behind me until he spoke.

"Alexandra," he said softly, and I whipped around to face him, instantly on guard. Years of liing with newborns had taught me not to trust people who sneak up behind you, and it was going against all my instincts to relax. If it was anyone but my 'family', that would have meant the end for me.

"Yes, Carlisle?" I asked politely.

"You shouldn't have left so early," he informed me. No, really? I may be lacking in the 'general knowledge about the world' department, but I wasn't _that _slow. I'd already figured that one out a long time ago.

"If you'd stayed longer, you could have better control. Then you wouldn't have slipped," Alice chimed in.

"There's an understatement," I said. "Three months was hardly old enough to have control. But things got so tense. I felt like at any moment, I was going to rip somebody's head off. I thought it would be better if I left." It felt surprisingly good to get that off my chest and out into the open.

"But it wasn't," Carlisle comfirmed.

"No. It turned into a complete disaster."

"I missed you, Alex," Alice said. She looked miserable. It was nasty to hurt her like that. But how could I help it?

"Yeah, I missed you too, Alice," I told her. I was just as miserable. "Jasper too. It's been a while since I saw him. Oh well, at least he's not the only one with a problem." That much was true. Along with my short attention span, I had anger issues, which made me uncontrollable. Even worse, there was the burning thirst that never went away for me, after almost 15 years of hardly being fed. But that was the past, and I preffered not to think about that, if I could help it.

"True," she said, smiling.

"You must stay a while," Carlisle insisted. I knew that they would offer, but I wasn't sure about the human. Almost definitely, someone would get hurt because of me.

"I don't know..." I was unsure. Part of me wanted to stay, but I knew I should go. For the good of them, and the humans who lived here.

"Please?" Alice persisted.

"What about the human?" I asked. "And Edward? He wasn't very pleased to see me."

"I'll deal with Edward," Alice promised.

I sighed, giving in. "Fine. I'll stay for a while. I guess that's what I came here to do, anyway." Alice was instantly happy, back to bouncing around with glee.

"Yay!" she cheered. "I'll tell the others!"

She saw me glaring at her, and rolled her eyes.

"And hunt down Edward, of course."

A/N: Well, thats all I have. I think this is going to be my shortest chapter, so the others should be bigger and better.  
Pease please please read and review, all reviews gratefully accepted!

Chapter 2 will be here as soon as possible; unfortunately I haven't even started it yet...


	2. Trees

**A/N: Aww, thanks to my awesome reveiwers, you warm my little heart up :)  
Enjoy!**

I'd been here two days, and I wasn't even a millimetre closer to feeling like I belonged here, even temporarily. Edward wasn't helping that, with sullen moods and absolutely nothing to say to me. Alice was over-enthusiastic at my stay, and the scent was all through the house, driving me insane. Except that wasn't right, since I was already insane.

Now, I had gotten my hands on a book, something I'd never planned to read, and I was hiding up a _tree_ of all places. As if they wouldn't find me. I hadn't taken much care when I chose my hiding place. I could still see the house.

"Hello?" A voice came up through the branches and hit me, along with the scent. It was that human, I would know that scent anywhere now. It made my throat burn like nothing I'd ever felt before, and there was nothing I'd like to do more than go and kill the girl, and get her out of my far-from-perfect life.

I leapt down from the tree, breaking my fall with a few branches on the way. I landed upwind from her, which alleviated some of the burn. Some, not all.

"What do you want?" I asked, letting my annoyance at her creep into my voice, giving it an edge. This fragile human irritated me to no end, for reasons I could not figure out. Of course, I couldn't lay a finger on her, or Edward would have me for sure. Friendships really do last a lifetime. They just don't last two. Pity.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," she said. I laughed at the ridiculous idea of me being scared of a human.

I thought I should share some of my _joy _with her. "Frighten me? I'm the one who does the frightening." I thought – a bit too late – that maybe I shouldn't have said that. Wouldn't want to give the precious human a _fright_.

"I'm not scared," she said. Oh, a tough nut. How amusing.

"Yeah? Well you should be. Just look at my eyes," I spat at her. I hated my eyes. The red just never faded. Of course, if I didn't slip up all the time...

"Oh. Your eyes are red?" Had this human _never _seen another coven before? I might have to teach her why vampires are generally feared by the human population.

"Do you know what that means?" I asked her, trying to get a grasp on her secrets. I was getting pretty deep into my power now, and I still didn't know as much as I would like to.

"You drink human blood? But I thought-" I cut her off before she could finish that ridiculous sentence. I'd heard it from several different people, all friends of Carlisle's.

"You thought all the Cullens lived off of animals?" I said a bit too viciously. She was _so _annoying. "Not me. And you smell particularly delicious." I stepped forward, trying to gain a bit more information. My power wasn't working the way it should. Was I losing my touch? Was that even possible?

Apparently, that was the wrong move to make, because Edward just about flew out of the house to stop me. I didn't even bother stepping back, just faced him defiantly. Alice danced out behind him, not as quick off the mark as he was. Then again, she wasn't in any danger here. Neither was the girl, but obviously Edward had absolutely no trust in me.

"Edward? Alex? C'mon guys, move! Just back off!" Alice pulled at each of us in turn, babbling, but we both held our ground. I was _not _going to let him get away with blaming me for that. "Edward, she wasn't going to do anything! If she was, I would have seen it! Bella, come into the house, before they go at it. I'll get the others." Great, now everyone would be here. That was just brilliant. But I never backed down from a fight and I wasn't about to now.

Then the others were there, everyone. Emmett had Edward in his grip and was tearing him away from the fight, which hadn't even really begun.

"C'mon Edward, let's go." Edward faced away, turning his back on me. At any other time, that would have been a fatal mistake, but there were others holding me now, restraining, and I did not fight them. All I did was watch Edward as he shrugged Emmett off and disappeared inside the house.

"Alex? Alex, you need to come with us. Alice help me." Someone pulled me away, but I didn't notice who it was. This was _so _not over yet.

Back in the house, at the dining room table, where Carlisle had made us meet, the disagreement continued. Of course, in a much more subtle manner now. _Talking_. Ugh.

"You need to come to an agreement before someone gets hurt," Carlisle said, facing us. I didn't really care what Edward came up with, as long as he got off my back. I was tired of having to deal with his _obsession_ over this girl's innocence. If he just made her keep to her own business, then there would be nothing wrong.

"I'm willing to leave her alone if she doesn't hurt Bella," he says, back in formal, gentleman mode. Typical Edward. Still, he was the one who was irritating me now. They were a good pair, those two. Both of them were annoying me to the high heavens.

"You think I was going to in the first place?" I was shocked at that last realisation.

"It sure looked like it," he told me confidently.

"You are unbelievable! I don't want to hurt your precious human!" As if I would mess with him. Sure, I stirred him up a lot – whenever the occasion presented itself – but that would have been going a little bit too far. I might be a bit slow on the uptake, but I wasn't dumb.

"Edward. She didn't mean her any harm." Carlisle again. Always the peacemaker. Of course, it suited him well.

"I don't believe that," Edward replied. "But, I will agree to leave Alex alone if she stays away from Bella."

"I will agree to that." I nodded at him once. I could be just as formal, even if I didn't grow up 100 years ago, or whatever ridiculous amount of time it was.

"And I'll help you! We can do some stuff together..." Alice had bounded into the room, making plans that involved me, and that I was sure I would _not _like. I thought I'd better stop her before she got to the point where she would be absolutely devastated if I told her no.

"Alice."

"What?"

"Forget it," I told her, surprised she hadn't seen that I was so not going to do anything _she _was planning.

Forget what?" She was confused. For the first time ever – and probably the last – I was seeing Alice confused. Now _there _was something to remember.

"Whatever you're planning. I'm not doing it. We are not going out where there are humans." I was _not _going to slip again, if I could help it. And I was afraid that I couldn't help it.

"Come on Alex, you don't even know what it is yet!" Why was someone so small, so _annoying_!

"That would work. I'll come with you. I need to hunt, anyway." Edward was being nice again. Then again, Alice was his favourite sister. Humph.

"Great!"

"Wait, what?" I wasn't keeping up. I hated it when they did that, especially when it just so happened to involve me. Sounded like it involved hunting though, which was something I _could _handle.

"You'll find out," Alice said, trying to be mysterious, and succeeding. "Oh, this will be so much fun!"

I was instantly filled with dread.


	3. Bear

**A/N: Right, so this fits into the story, but most of it really isn't needed. The Chapter 3 I had was unfinished and didn't fit, so I've just thrown this together. It's mostly people sulking, though. Still, enloy! And review people! I know you're reading it!**

Alice.

Why was it so hard to send her a message without just saying it too her straight and hurting her? For the last three days, I had been trying to tell her that I wasn't interested in her 'fun'. It was testing my patience, and I was on the verge of just telling her it straight, but I don't think I could stand her moping and sulking around the house for weeks on end. That could end in more regular wrestling matches with Emmett.

And god knows we didn't need more of _that_. Whenever I won, _he _would sulk, 'cause he got beaten by a 14-year-old (well, 29, actually, but that's not the point) vampire who is _way _smaller than him. I can see why that would be humiliating, but why he can't just _get over it_, is beyond me.

Like now, for instance. Almost 24 hours, one day, and he still hasn't recovered. He sulks and makes excuses, and tries to convince me to have a rematch, but frankly, I'm not in the mood. Even after I got annihilated by Jasper in wrestling, chess, cards...the list goes on, he still can't get over it. And it is annoying. Like a little fly buzzing in your ear, and you just can't get it to go away. _Annoying_.

"I'm going hunting," Emmett mutters to Rosalie. He thinks I can't hear him when he mutters obscenities and such under his breath. That's what I call an incompetent fool, who wants to lose his life, but I have never voiced this opinion. Only Jasper would have the slightest idea of what I meant, if at all.

Emmett stalked out of the house and into the forest, scowling at me as he passed. I just grinned back at him, trying to get on his nerves. Annoying Emmett, now that's what I call fun!

Unfortunately, Rosalie caught me doing that, and glared out the window at me, underneath my tree, which is now very comfortable, after a bit of pounding into shape. I stared back until she grew tired of playing with me and turned back to whatever she was doing. Carlisle and Jasper were playing chess or something, though I doubted the game would last very long, and I was almost certain that Carlisle would be losing. It was impossible to beat Alice at anything, and of course she was helping Jasper cheat. At least she had found something else to occupy herself with, though there would be no harm in Jasper learning to win by himself.

Esme was upstairs, and I knew she was watching me, but I ignored her. She had offered to help me find something to keep me busy when the human...Bella...was around, but I had told her that my book would do, and that it wasn't that bad. I was good at lying, I knew that much. It _was_ bad, hard, _and painful_ even, made worse by the incessant thirst that never seemed to leave.

He had her here today, now, at this very moment. Thinking about the thirst only made it worse, close to unbearable. There were no words to describe that, though I'm sure Carlisle has tried. That would be typical of him.

I slammed the book shut. It was impossible to concentrate on it now that I had allowed my mind to wander onto that topic. Heading inside, I pass Rosalie, who gives me the death stare. _If looks could kill, _I thought to myself, silently laughing at my own little joke. It didn't affect my face though, and my blank mask remained, hiding my thoughts and emotions. 15 years was more than enough time to practise that.

I decided to pass Alice, even though I had no intention of going that way. When I was right behind her, I had an idea. Jasper should learn how to play by himself? Maybe I could help that along.

I shoved my elbow into her back as I passed, making her stumbling into the room, causing a fair amount of noise. She turned around and looked at me, not very happy by my spur-of-the-moment decision. Finally, getting my own back on Alice.

As I wandered away, I could hear her explaining herself to Carlisle with a string of lies. It almost made me laugh, and she was planning revenge. Ah, well. Can't say I didn't expect it.

I was getting sick of hanging around with all the matched sets. It wasn't every day I came across one of those in my travels, let alone four of them. Some would think it was depressing, but not in my case. Just annoying, and sometimes it made you want to puke.

I decided to take off, where I would go, no one knew, not even myself. As soon as I was out the front door I was running, desperate to get away. Jasper especially was getting on my nerves, projecting emotions by accident, just a little too much for me. Of course, I wasn't going to tell him that, he already knew I was more sensitive to it than the others, and I didn't feel like talking much at the moment.

It was a quick hunt, with the elk serving their new purpose of life to satisfy my never-ending thirst. Call me crazy, but hunting yesterday only worked for a couple hours.

The house was deserted when I got back. Not completely deserted, since Alice and Edward were talking upstairs when I came in. I didn't even want to know what they were talking about, and I had a pretty good guess anyway. The others were somewhere close by; I could just feel their presence somewhere. Too vague.

Before I could seek them out, Alice just about flew past me, closely followed by Edward. I had no idea where they were going, and neither was kind enough to stop and share it with me. I guessed the sudden rush was Alice's doing; Edward looked bored, but then again, wasn't that how he always looked?

"Have you seen Alice?" Jasper's deep tones echoed behind me, making me flinch. It was frustrating that they could sneak up on me just like that, and I didn't even notice. Hadn't I learnt to watch my back? That was the primary rule of survival – watch your back. If anyone sneaks up on you, you'll be dead. Especially if they know how to fight, like Jasper.

"She just disappeared off with Edward, to where I will probably never know," I tell him, watching closely. It was unlikely that he, of all people, would attack me, but this had happened once before. I'd almost lost my head over that fight, because I lost my temper. Actually, I lost my temper a lot. It was a miracle that I hadn't lost it over something here yet.

Jasper grinned at me, making me groan. _How _did he know, when I had absolutely no idea? I was usually the first one to know these things!

"Emmett is playing with his food," he explained. That made me laugh loudly. Typical Emmett! Playing with his food.

"What sort of food?" I ask. Emmett likes quite a few types of food.

He chuckled. "Grizzly bear."

I made a face. Grizzlies were just that: grizzly. They just didn't taste right. Of course, after living off humans, I probably couldn't complain. I had a craving, and I wasn't allowed to have it, and it made everything taste worse.

"You'll get used to it, eventually," he said.

"You figured that one out?"

"Alex, it wasn't even hard."

"I should stop humouring myself. It's not worth even trying with all these perceptive people around."

"Do you want to go and find the others? This should be interesting."

I nodded, and he set off, leading. It's wasn't even hard to keep up, despite the huge height difference. And they called Alice small.

They were all there, lurking around the edges of the clearing. Emmett was out in the centre, glittering in a rare ray of sunshine. I had never been in the sun; I tended to go out at night most times, or stay under shade.

I didn't last to long. The bear was bleeding in several places after a while, and even though I was disgusted by the taste of it, well, blood is blood. No use fighting Emmett over spilt blood.

I thought I might as well go chase some animals or something. My throat was already starting to ache, apparently not satisfied with the elk. It was so _inconvenient_, the way it always came back, even if I gouged myself. A never-ending cycle, no matter how you looked at it. And there was no way I could stop it.

No one noticed me leave, or at least, I don't think they did. None of the others bothered me, and Edward was staying well clear of me, probably of my erratic thoughts, which are hard to get a good grip on for more than a few moments, if that. Humans would call it a nervous disorder. I call it crazy.

Running was a relief. This was a way to get away from my horrible life, for a while. Being on the move meant that no one could catch me, and I was as quick thing, as fast as quicksilver. The sun filtered down through the forest leaves overhead, a sunny day. No wonder everyone was at home.

One stray beam caught my bare arm as I ran, just for a moment. But one moment was long for me to see it shatter off of my cold, stone skin and onto the trees around. Most would think it was wonderful, or beautiful, or something like that, but I thought different. It reminded me of who – what I am.

I slowed down. Running held no enjoyment for me now. My head was still reeling with that sight, that one picture, dancing around my head, along with the other strange and horrible things that had collected over the course of 29 years, though only a few were human. There hadn't been much to hold onto from there.

I sat on a rock. I hoped Edward got in my head when I returned. Almost certainly, when he was finished, he would begin to look like the old man he should be. Now that would be a sight to see.

If I returned.

I was torn. I didn't like the travelling, but this human was making this situation even more difficult. Hurting them wasn't something I wanted to do; I'd already done it once. They considered me a part of this family, even if I didn't. I didn't deserve to even know them, and I certainly didn't deserve Carlisle's kindness, or Esme's forgiveness, especially after I let her down once.

Alice, my friend. She was still my friend, even after I let her down. Jasper, he helped me in those first months, but I was a burden to him now. Emmett, well, he just enjoyed using me for fights, since he couldn't beat anyone else, and he only enjoyed it if he won. Rosalie, she wouldn't mind if I left.

Then there was Edward. Did he hate me? I thought he did. Even after he...saved...me, he couldn't help. Neither could Carlisle. I don't like thinking about that, but it was the key to solving the puzzle, if I wanted to solve it.

I knew what I wanted to do. It would hurt them, but I had to do it.

I had to leave.


	4. Decisions

**Ok, so I haven't gotten any more reviews yet =( and I'm not feeling very happy. This got finished a while ago but I was on holiday so I couldn't put it up...**  
**Anywho, I'm also not very happy after finding out about a bit of plaguerism, and I left a comment on the story that was the result of this which was harsh but true. So I'm not really feeling to good at the moment...**  
**But just because I'm not, doesn't mean you can't! Please enjoy and review my story, all reviews welcome!**

4-Decision

"Alexandra Cullen!"

I paused at the foot of the stairs. I'd only just gotten back from my trip away from Emmett, and hunting, and she was already onto me. I was finding the diet...hard. Of course, decisions had to go past Alice first, and I knew she was going to stop this one.

Alice flitted to my side, closely followed by Jasper, who – for once – wasn't waiting for me. I sighed. _Here we go again, _I thought.

"Yes Alice?" I asked, keeping my tone polite. No need to lose it over nothing.

"You are _not _going to do that!" she cried. Jasper stood behind her, not commenting, just keeping tabs on the mood. If I lost it, he would not hesitate to take me down.

I was defiant. She had seen my choice. Now all I had to do was convince her not to tell Carlisle.

"Yes I am, and there's nothing you can do to stop me," I told her. She frowned at me, not happy at how difficult I was being. Had she expected me to give in?

"If you leave, I will go after you and drag you straight back here!" She was adamant about that.

"Jasper won't let you," I said smugly. I knew that I had the upper hand there. He was _so _not going to let her go down south!

"I'll go anyway." Geez, she was stubborn. Small, but stubborn.

"As if," I taunted her, trying to keep my victorious mood from turning into anger. I was having fun now. Jasper frowned, confused and wary, in case my mood switched, as it often does. In his eyes, I was as dangerous as any of the newborns he had been brought up with.

"What do you mean, I won't let her go after you?" Jasper asked, watching me carefully. "Where are you going?"

"Jazz, don't worry about it," Alice pacified him. Amazingly, he bought it, shrugging it off and going back to monitoring my 'unstable condition', as he liked to call it.

"Ha!" I crowed. "See, told you he won't let you! You know he won't!"

"He'll let me," Alice argued.

"Where are you going?" Jasper asked again.

Alice gave in. She knew arguing with me was pointless if you didn't have reasonable evidence. "She's going down south," she said, turning to Jasper. "She thinks I'll just let her get away with leaving and going back to _that_."

"Oh," he said, surprised. Apparently, he had not thought that I would go back to the wars. "Well, she's right. I'm not going to let you get involved in that."

"Aw, come on Jasper! Do you want her to leave?"

"No," he answered in a soft voice. A strange calm fell over the room – courtesy of Jasper – fell over the room, until I glared at him and he stopped it. "I can't understand why she wants to get involved in those wars. But you're not going down there, and I'm not going back." I could see that he wasn't going to be swayed. Unfortunately, Alice wasn't giving up.

"I am if she is, and there's nothing you can do to stop me! Jazz, do you want me to be angry with you?" Alice was almost as close to losing it as I was.

"No," Jasper answered, choosing his words carefully. "I just don't want you down there in those wars. It's too dangerous."

"No one can touch me!" Alice cried. She was _mad _now, or very close to it. How could you ever tell with Alice? I struggled to stop myself from losing it too. "Haven't you watched me fight? You know they can't touch me!"

"I don't care. You are staying here with me. Alex is free to do what she likes."

I felt like it was time for me to back him up. "I am Alice. You don't rule me. If I want to leave, then I will."

"Fine," she said, and for a moment I thought she had given in. "But if you plan to leave again, I'll tell Carlisle about that."

I was shocked. "You wouldn't!" I cried. Speaking was a mistake. As soon as I said it, I lost control, and the craziness came, blanking out all reason and sense in my head. I didn't even know what I was angry about, only that it was something to do with Alice. Sensing this, Jasper jumped in front of her. I snarled at him, and he did the same thing he would do to any newborn. He stepped forward and grabbed my arms, threatening to help me lose a few limbs. I hesitated for a moment, and that was all it took for him to have my arms behind my back, and to smack me across the head, trying to beat a little sense back into me. He was acting rather quickly and efficiently, considering that I must have caught him by surprise, exploding like that. I had warned them my temper was unusually short, though they obviously hadn't listened. But I had seen his initial shock when I had first lost it.

I had to make sure she didn't tell arlisle about my previous plan, which I had decided on after my quick hunt. I'd been hoping she would be concentrating on something else with her visions, not to notice my decision. _What _in the world did I have to do to get a little good luck?

"I would tell him," Alice said softly, even ominously. I lunged towards her, all literal thinking and common sense gone, and Jasper tightened his grip on me. For a second, I fought him, but I gave up quickly when he proved much stronger than me.

"You belong here, Alex," she continued. "Here. Not out there. That's why Edward brought you to us. That's why you weren't left in the woods to die."

I grimaced. She was so wrong! "No Alice," I whimpered, trying to regain control so that Jasper would let go. "I don't belong here. I've never been happy here, or anywhere else, and I never will."

"Alex," Jasper said from behind me. I twisted around to face him, way to close for my liking. This was how the fights started, when someone got in your face. "Why do you want to get involved in those wars? There is a much better life here." I turned back around and shuffled my arms, trying to get into a more comfortable position. Alie nodded to him, and he let me go.

Instead of answering his question, which I had no answer for, in any case, I took off as soon as I was free, far away from the house and deep into the woods, where not even Carlisle or Esme would follow.


	5. Fighting

As I walked into the house, I knew how they would react. Of course, it was Rosalie who spoke first

"Oh look, the runaway has returned," she said, not even bothering to lookup from where she was flicking through the channels on TV. She crinkled her nose up as the smell hit her.

"Stinks like dog, too." Maybe the treaty line hadn't been such a good idea after all...

"Rose, don't," Emmett chided, elbowing her.

"What? It's true."

"Alex?" I heard Esme soft voice call from the other room. She flitted to my side.

"Don't Esme. Just leave me alone," I say, hoping she will listen to me and just go. I would never want to hurt Esme, but it just seemed unavoidable.

"Alex, you can't do that!" Alice cried from the top of the stairs. _Damn it _I thought, only halfway up. Of course she would have seen my decision just as it had become solid and definite.

"I can and I will, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"I'll come after you," she insisted defiantly.

"Alice, you've seen where I'm going," I told her. "I don't care if you follow."

"Well, I don't care if you leave. I'll just bring you straight back here. No one is going to stop me."

"Jasper isn't going to let you go there. You know that, so stop bluffing." That was one thing I was sure about.

"Please, Alex. Just one more try," she pleaded. I turned away from her.

"No, Alice. Leave me alone."

"Leave her be, Alice." Esme's soft voice rings out from behind us, echoing slightly in the silent house.

"Is that true? Your leaving?" Emmett asked, coming up behind us.

"Yes."

"Aw, come on! I haven't even had a chance to call a rematch!" he whines, rather loudly.

"I'm sure you'll get over it, Emmett. You've got forever to." I hear the bitterness in my words, but choose to ignore it.

"You'll come back some time, right?" Alice asked, though she probably already knew.

"No. I'm leaving for good this time." My decision is final. I don't want to come back.

"Alexandra." His low voice, dazzling to so many others, echoed behind me. I whirled to look at him, even though it placed Alice behind me. But in my mind, he was more dangerous than her.

"What do you want, Edward?" I asked, exasperated.

"I am sorry Bella and I have caused you some discomfort. Please, stay with us for a while longer." Always the gentleman. And always on my nerves. Did he ever just be normal?

"Some is an understatement," I told him pointedly. He just scowled at me.

"You know Edward," I said, feeling like making someone suffer. "Scowling just messes up your pretty face." He scowled harder. I laughed at him, trying to keep his temper under control.

Slowly, the scowl faded, and his face levelled into an unreadable mask. Damn. There goes any chance of fun.

"You don't like Bella, do you?" he asked through clenched teeth. I shake my head. No words needed for that answer.

"Why don't you meet her then?" he asked, after contemplating it for a moment.

"Are you sure?" I asked. For once, he surprised me. That was the last thing I thought he would say.

"Tomorrow then," he said, ignoring me. Before I can say anything more, he disappears, off to his room or something. Well, great. Now I have another problem.

* * *

**WoW. That took a rather long time for me to get done. Hopefully it won't take as long to get the next one up!**

**In any case...Merry Christmas!**


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